Rounding out the trio, I visited Shoryu for an early weekend dinner. The menu is certainly more extensive than Bone Daddies and Tonkotsu, offering a greater deal of ramen types and starters compared with the other two. I suppose this is good for variety, but only if the main ramen focus was maintained up to scratch.
Some of the reviews of Shoryu have been mixed. The most frequent complaint is the excessive heavy-handed wasabi in the Wasabi Tonkotsu to the point of it being inedible. I would never have ordered that anyway, but it's good to know.
- Matcha latte - sweet green tea latte, which London has been missing;
- Char siu Tonkotsu (rich tonkotsu pork broth with bbq pork, nitamago egg, kikurage mushrooms, beansprouts, spring onion, sesame, ginger & nori) - a generous serve beautifully presented and satisfying, but seemed to lack the deep rich flavour found in Bone Daddies and Tonkotsu;
- Chicken kara age - simply cooked, needed more seasoning;
- Pork belly Hirata Bun (steamed buns filled with shoryu spicy meat, greens & kewpie mayo) - quite an unimpressive version with heavy bun, ugly lettuce and only a thin slice of pork belly.
I'd come back to Shoryu only if other people wanted to come here to try it and/or eat the side dishes. It isn't bad, I just feel BD and Tonkotsu are better. Shoryu does have a more extensive drinks (including alcohol and the abovementioned Matcha latte) so maybe that might tip you one evening.
Next time I would order the Char siu Tonkotsu for a safe dish, or branch out creatively to Dracula Tonkotsu (deep roasted tones from caramelised black garlic mayu, balsamic vinegar and garlic chips), Sapporo Miso (miso pork broth, bbq pork, nitamago, nori, sweet corn, seasoned beansprouts and spring onion) or maybe just their simpler signature Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu (tonkotsu & miso broth with added spinach & garlic).
